Winter is notorious for sucking any moisture from our skin. As we spend more time indoors with heating, and brave chilly winds, our skin takes a serious beating. I have dry skin to begin with, so winter is actually hell for me. (Despite this, it's still my favourite season)
In fact, my skin gets so dry in winter that my immune system rebels against me and I break out in a horribly painful, itchy rash. This is known as eczema. The funny thing with eczema is that it can be incredibly variable from person to person. Whilst my triggers are primarily dry skin, stress and sometimes pollen, other people will flare up for different reasons. There's also no cure; management here is key. So, as with any skincare disclaimer, this is what I have found to work for me, and it may or may not work for you. I thought I'd share it because it's taken me years to get to this point, and maybe it can help you too. If you don't have eczema and you only have dry skin that could do with a little softening, then these tips and products will work wonders for you!
Normally with eczema, a main treatment option is a hydrocortisone steroid cream. These range in strengths, from 0.5% to 1%, both being available over the counter, and up to 2.5% available with a prescription. Although incredibly effective, the problem with hydrocortisone is that it is only supposed to be used in the short term as it can cause thinning of the skin, which is cumulative. So, as I'm sure you can understand I wanted to be able to treat my eczema and dry skin without relying on steroid creams.
My treatment begins in the shower. If my skin is in the middle of a flare up, I won't wash with soap, as this can really irritate my skin. Instead, I just wipe the affected areas down with a damp cloth and warm (not hot! - again, also very drying) water. I then apply some of Lush's Ro's Argan Body Conditioner as a deep skin conditioner. This helps to lock moisture in whilst I'm still in the shower.
Once a week, I also exfoliate, and I've found the Body Shop's Ximenia & Salt Scrub to be the best for my skin condition. Although it does contain salt granules, there's no harsh beads in this to scratch my skin up and irritate it, which I love. It contains shea butter, beeswax from Zambia, and ximenia oil, to help really moisturise your skin. This scrub is wonderfully creamy, and leaves my skin so soft and smooth. It is on the expensive side at AUD$49.95, but I haven't found a cheaper substitute that works as well as this. It is also quite a large tub; I bought it about a year ago and still have about 80% left. I also love the packaging; it's sturdy, the lid is airtight, and it provides an air of luxury (which tbh, you would expect for that kind of price)
As soon as I get out of the shower, I pat myself dry with a fluffy towel. Sounds silly to point that out, but I did want to mention it because if you have an issue with dry skin, patting the water off is the best way to dry yourself without irritation. Rubbing and scrubbing can irritate easily, especially if you're hopping out of a hot shower (and who doesn't love a hot shower in winter!?)
Once I'm dry, I absolutely slather myself in a body cream. I really love Dove's Silky Nourishment Body Cream for this one, although the Body Shop's Coconut Body Butter is also a firm favourite. It's important to do this once you jump out of the shower so your skin just drinks it up.
If done every night, your skin will be incredibly soft and moisturised.
As eczema is an inflammation issue, I have recently added this final step to my defences. Unfortunately, whilst moisturising prevents future attacks, just moisturising is not enough to get rid of current flare-ups. Once my body cream has soaked into my skin and I've gotten dressed, I liberally apply Moo Goo Eczema and Psoriasis Cream to where my skin is scaly and sore. I cannot speak highly enough about this product.
Only a few weeks ago, the eczema on my my legs and hips had caused my skin to be scaly, sore, itchy and bleeding. After about a week and a half of using this on those areas, it has gone down considerably. Whilst I do believe that natural products are ideal to use, I am skeptical as to how well they work...especially when I've had such success with steroid creams. The anti-inflammation ingredients in this cream help the rash to go down and stop it coming back. This is completely natural (check out the ingredients list below) and ... even better...it's made by an Australian company, in Australia. This is now a firm favourite of mine...I just cannot believe how much it has cleared up my skin.
Whilst I still get the occasional eczema attack, I now have weapons in my arsenal that I know work and will make it better. I will also add, that I do also take anti-histamines to help control the itch. Whilst these products do an excellent job at controlling the rash and what causes my skin to break out, they don't really help with my lack of self-control. Sometimes skincare just isn't enough, and you need medication too.
Do you get eczema? What do you use to help control your flare-ups?
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